Tuesday, September 3, 2013

my first chicks, apprehensionand a little help

It’s getting near the equinox, so as I wrote last month, time to purchase my first flock of chicks through heifer.org. Now I’ll be purchasing 2 goats and 2 flocks of chicks a year for families who could use a bit of assistance. Not bad; I wish more would make such a commitment.

Well, I had a 100watt solar panel added to the 60watt already up on the roof and the 160watts are enough to take care of my needs. Sure is nice to see the batteries fully charged most days. The dealer replaced the solar controller but not with an upgrade, just another OEM. This second controller is starting to do the same things as the last one. Bummer. I’ll see what can be done about it.

Last month while rolling into a national forest, I felt apprehensive. I’m driving along checking out spur roads, looking for a place to set up camp. I’m noticing how parched everything is; the grass looks like straw. On town runs, I’d been hearing about fires in this part of the state and in other areas. It was the first time I did not want to drive miles up dirt roads, getting away from the asphalt. But this is what I live for. This is my realmand now I’m uneasy about going into the areas where I can find solitude. This is not good. But it’s not as if I can take it up with Mother Nature.

I’m still not the type of person who would have a ‘bucket list,’ but as you know, I did have a lifestyle I wanted to try, hence, my ‘bucket life.’ I’m still enjoying it, but its been getting somewhat restricted. Some rangers enforce the 14-day limit for disperse campers and RVers. Bummer. It’s not as if I’m just squatting on federal land (well yes, I know, according to the rules, I am) but this is where I set up camp and go off to do my kind of traveling. You’ve seen squatters out therethey tend to be slugs, just sitting around their camp. During the time I’m in an area, I spend days and rack up miles on my running shoes, hiking boots and mountain bike. I get to know the area for miles around. This is how I get to know a place; for a time, it becomes my realm. Oh well, it’s something I can live with. Then there is the National Forest Service Travel Management Program, closing (to motor vehicles) many of the spur roads that I used to go up looking for spots to camp. I also contributed to restricting my lifestyleby getting a long-wheelbase tow vehicle. The poor turning radius makes it impossible to maneuver into some spots where I would like to camp. Going to a longer trailer has not been as restricting as one would think.

Now there’s concern with forest fires. Good grief, almost makes one want to stay in campgrounds. Wish I knew of some secluded spots along a creek. ‘Secluded’ being the key word. I’ve been in areas where NOAA tacked on fire updates to their weather forecast. This is a good thing. I have not been able to access NOAA, however, in any of the areas I’ve been camping this summer.

Well, I think I’ll soon start to meander south. I’ll check out the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest outside Ely, Nevada and then Great Basin National Park. Early October should put me in the Moab area where I’ll probably stay until the end of November. Like I’ve said, there’s no one out there at that time of year. Well, maybe in campgrounds, but not out in the areas where I’ve been disperse camping the last few years.

Okay, I could use a little help here since I have not lived with a TV for most of my adult life. Last winter I ordered another season of BBC’s Doctor Who and it worked really well for my lifestyle. I don’t want to order movies on DVD (but I’ve made a few exceptions) because it’s like a one-shot viewing (a long one, an hour and a half or more), but the time frame of TV programs is perfect, 45 minutes a shot. I’m getting more like my friend Lynn, ‘Okay, I’ve sat here long enough, time to get up and do something else.’ This winter I plan to order another season of Doctor Who and maybe one of Cheers. It took me three months to watch the season of Doctor Who (& it was only 14 shows); I don’t sit down and watch an episode all that often. So, any suggestions for other TV shows I might want to look into? Lynn suggested House and Bones. Any others? How about BBC shows? I really would appreciate suggestions.

6 comments:

Sorry about that removed comment - I muddled things up and will now try again:

Interesting post. You address many of the same issues I have, esp. regarding forest fires and where to camp. I have a question - you wrote:

"I also contributed to restricting my lifestyle—by getting a long-wheelbase tow vehicle. The poor turning radius makes it impossible to maneuver into some spots where I would like to camp. Going to a longer trailer has not been as restricting as one would think."

Is that last sentence what you meant to say? It seems to be a bit non sequiter w/ the previous ones.

Knowing what you do now, would you still buy the trailer, and would you get a shorter-wheelbase tow vehicle? I ask as I'm in the throes of trying to find the perfect rig on a tight budget and am looking at some of the longer trailers (longer being over 15') and my vehicle has a short wheelbase. Thanks